Determining Self While Being Pushed, Pulled and Shaped at the Cultural Interface: The Post-Schooling Transition Experiences of Cape York Indigenous Boarding School Graduates

Completion of year 12 is known to enhance employment prospects and improve economic, health and wellbeing outcomes. For most Indigenous young people from remote communities in Cape York, Far North Queensland, access to a comprehensive secondary education is only possible by moving away from family and Country to attend boarding school. This poses significant challenges and requires compromises that have far reaching implications. Nationally, only 41.7% of very remote-dwelling Indigenous young people complete year 12 or the equivalent. Growing research and ensuing debates exist about the benefits and costs of the boarding school experience for remote Indigenous students, yet there remains limited research regarding one of the key purported benefits – that of enhanced post-schooling pathways for those who do complete year 12. 

This study examined the experiences of 56 of 142 Cape York Indigenous young people who graduated from boarding school between 2013 and 2018. Through centralising their voices, it mapped their pathways up to six years post-completion, and explored the process by which they navigated the transition from year 12 completion into pathways beyond school. Utilising a decolonizing approach and operating within transformative and constructivist paradigms this mixed-methods study, encompassed grounded theory based on semi-structured yarns with supplementary components consisting of a questionnaire (descriptively analysed) and situational analysis. 

Determining what constituted a successful transition was difficult however, understanding that aspirations were individually and collectively intertwined, multi-dimensional, evolved over time and that connection to family, community, culture and Country played a significant role in how transitions were imagined and enacted was significant. This not only provided a holistic lens to view transitions but strengthened the importance of ensuring strong outcomes were achieved. 

The grounded theory presented in this thesis highlighted that navigating post-schooling transitions was a complex and ongoing process, with the core process being: determining self while being pushed, pulled and shaped at the cultural interface. Five situational conditions were found to significantly influence transition experiences: 1) the growing self; 2) the socio-cultural tug of war; 3) geographical tensions; 4) influencing supports and resources; and 5) significant and defining events. In response, young people utilised five strategies to inform their transition decisions: 1) cross-cultural sensemaking; 2) connecting; 3) adapting, applying and building capabilities; 4) keeping the flow; and 5) weighing up their options. This thesis unpacks the complex nature of this process across three transition phases. 

Overall, graduates believed year 12 attainment had benefited their ability to engage in employment, training or study and reported high levels of overall life satisfaction. Further, they were proud of their achievements, saw themselves as role models in their communities and continued to be driven by a desire to contribute to the collective good of their communities. However, a high proportion of graduates did not experience the full benefits expected through year 12 completion. Instead, many (particularly females) experienced high levels of part-time, low-wage and/or fractured employment upon leaving school and reported lower satisfaction with their employment opportunities and financial situations. 

Transitions were likely to be strengthened when schools drew on young people’s strengths, provided a culturally responsive education linked to their values, maintained high expectations and created opportunities that nurtured aspirations and built capabilities. Creating a transition exit strategy regardless of whether graduates returned home or remained away was essential. Further, having a strong network of supports, including family or other significant mentors, was critical across all transition phases. 

Graduates were more likely to ‘fall through the gaps’ when aspirations were undefined prior to leaving school, support networks were lacking, and opportunities were limited or required difficult compromises such as moving away from their communities. Despite over half of graduates returning home after school completion, schools were reported to focus support predominantly on those following university pathways. Consequently, many graduates left school without a clear transition plan and were left to negotiate their transitions independently or with their families. This initial 12 months beyond school was seen as a time of increased vulnerability. 

Findings suggest that current post-schooling transition practices and systems, both at school and beyond, are often ad hoc and fail to adequately meet the unique needs and aspirations of remote-dwelling Indigenous graduates. Given the investment required for these young people to navigate a boarding school education, it seems imperative that current approaches be transformed to enable greater success and satisfaction. This study identified a range of conditions and strategies that will ensure programs are relevant and inclusive of Cape York graduates’ worldviews and aspirations.